Worldly life, no day is truly empty
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नाहीं कोणी दिस जात वांयांविण । साध्य नाहीं सीण लटिका चि ॥1॥
एकाचिये माथां असावें निमित्त । नसो नाहीं हित कपाळीं तें ॥ध्रु.॥
कांहीं एक तरी बोलायाचा जागा । नेदिती वाउगा उभा ठाकों ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे वर्में कळों येती कांहीं । ओळखी जे नाहीं होईल ते ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Not a single day passes without purpose; even if nothing is achieved, the toil itself is not in vain. Something must rest upon someone's head as the appointed cause; if there is no good fortune written there, so be it. At the very least, there is always an occasion for speech; they will not let you stand idle for nothing. Says Tuka, some signs of the pattern become clear; the recognition that has not yet come will surely come in time.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Not one day goes by without some purpose. Even when nothing is achieved, the labor itself is not wasted. Something must fall to someone's lot as the appointed cause. If no good fortune is written there, then let it be. At the very least there is always an occasion to speak. They will not let you stand around for nothing. Tuka says: some signs of the pattern do come clear. The recognition that has not yet come will surely come in time.
What it means
Tukaram looks at ordinary days that seem to produce nothing and refuses to call them empty. The toil still counts even when there is no visible result, because each circumstance falls to someone as its appointed cause. He accepts plainly that if fortune is not written for a given day, so be it; he does not force it. Yet life keeps offering openings, an occasion to speak, a reason to be drawn in, so no one is left idle for long. The closing assurance is patient: the underlying pattern reveals itself bit by bit, and the recognition still missing will arrive in its own time.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
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